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BU | Culture > Entertainment

My Thoughts On Season 2 Of ‘The O.C.’

Izabella Leidel Student Contributor, Boston University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at BU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

As someone who doesn’t watch a lot of TV, I need to be hooked immediately to make it past the pilot episode. With The O.C., that was easy.

Its pilot instantly pulled me into the world of Orange County with intense drama. As I got to Season 2, though, I started to find myself annoyed with the repetition of the same overdone tropes. At what point does it become too much?

Something I found unique to The O.C. was its way of making every character appealing in some way…well, except Oliver. Even though they’re all flawed and consistently make mistakes, I love them all — even Julie Cooper. 

island palm trees
Photo by Jose Espinal from Pexels

In Season 2, however, I became irritated with the way they consistently tried to make everyone do something wrong. Am I really supposed to believe that Sandy Cohen would do that to Kirsten? I don’t think so. Even the most sane, moral characters started stepping out of line. It gets to a point where it’s painful to watch.

The main trope the writers can’t seem to let go of is the on-again-off-again relationship mess. Ryan and Marissa can’t seem to stay together or away from each other. They’re either emotionally cheating on each other or emotionally cheating on their partner with the other. At least with Ryan and Marissa, though, it actually feels in character. 

I can’t say the same about Seth. He has been obsessed with Summer his whole life, naming a boat after her and everything. There’s no way he would drag the Anna situation on for so long! And then, as soon as that ended, we became caught up in the Seth-Summer-Zach love triangle. It gets tiring when every episode they’re fighting about each other, and they still make no progress. Plus, Summer’s character is reduced to Seth time and time again.

A torn pink paper heart strung on white string with a black background.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema from Unsplash

Overall, I simply want to see some character progression. If Luke can even do a 180, I think Marissa and Seth can stop making the same mistakes time and time again. 

Let’s hope Season 3 is better! 

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Izabella Leidel

BU '29

Hi! I am Bella Leidel, and I am a freshman studying journalism at Boston University. I am originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, though. I am a huge sports fan, but I am not into Philly sports despite my eastern PA background. I love the New York Jets (ironic considering I am in New England now) and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I am getting into the New York Mets and Boston Celtics. Beyond sports, I love all things fashion. I am obsessed with curating aesthetics, and I love doing this within my writing.